Star Wars: The Old Republic Beta Info Hub

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Check in for ongoing impressions of BioWare's anticipated MMO.

By Nick Kolan

Resting on the shoulders of Star Wars: The Old Republic are the hopes and dreams of millions. BioWare fans, Star Wars fans, and gamers looking for a new MMO to call their own each believe, or at least wish, that the BioWare-developed MMO will live up to the monumental expectations placed upon it, and provide a universe as big as World of Warcraft's and as involved and reactive as any other BioWare title.

So the beta for The Old Republic is important. It's the first time we've been able to play the game at our own pace and with our own persistent characters. We're not entirely unrestricted -- we can only talk about the early portions of the game from the Republic side -- but with no short time limit and no specific class or area to focus on, it is much easier to get a sense of what The Old Republic will be like come December 20th.

So what's the general impression? Well, it's really solid. From what's been seen, there's a lot of early-level content, ranging from quests and dungeons to exploration and politics. Crafting introduces an interesting random element that makes it like an addictive slot-machine, and the dialogue and story sequences are pretty darn cool. There's some neat group content in there too, both in the form of interesting boss encounters and story situations where one person's choice affects everyone's path.

That said, a lot of The Old Republic feels very safe, sticking to things that have worked for other games in the past, and rarely attempting anything new or experimental. And some of the classes feel as though they don't have quite as much of an impact, both visually and functionally, as others. Rather than get bogged down in the specifics here, though, you should read about parts that truly interest you. We'll be rolling out new stories regularly on IGN talking about different aspects of the beta, all of which will be linked through the hub image you see slotted above.